The Voices

No problem, keep us posted !

Here is the news ! Collecting tomorrow, a friend has offered to drive me down (I will of course pay for fuel and lunch !) Hope I make it home in one piece.

Hi Gary, I would 'spread the word' about the auction on a few car forums so that people realise it is for such a good cause. The 'trade' value on the 4.0 V8 would be peanuts (even with the low mileage), probably £1500 or less, we recently gave £750 for a reasonable 2000 registered 4.0 V8 that had done about 60k. It is worth what someone is willing to pay, myself I don't rate the pre-facelift S-Type at all (poor interior, poor gearbox, handbrake that is in the wrong place, etc) but a great car if they are cheap ! Putting my prejudices aside, I would be looking to pay no more than £2500 if it is a really nice example but I am still convinced that it is not a Sport version (not a big deal but sellers who can't describe the vehicle accurately annoy me !) It would also need to have very good service history to get top money. You really need to drive the 4.2 version (all 4.2's are the facelift model with 6 speed box and electronic park brake) it is a world apart from the early version. Will this particular 4.0 be a collectors item one day because of the low mileage, who knows ?

Glad to hear that your good lady is doing well, auctioning the ZT is a fantastic gesture. It might be worth putting details on the Rover/MG forums to help get the best price to benefit the charity ? Let me know if I can be of any help when you are ready to take another look at a Jaguar. The 4.0 V8 looks a reasonable car in the photos but would need to be a lot more than 'reasonable' for me to pay £4k. A 4.2 or S-Type R would be the way forward for me ?

Still waiting for the ISA funds to appear in my account so that I can pay the balance and arrange to collect it !

Thank you for the suggestions and your kind offer. I can probably arrange for one of our delivery drivers from work to collect it and pay my employers for his time but really want to drive it back myself to get a feel for what needs sorting. I would also feel awful if something happened to the car whilst our driver had it in his care (even if not his fault) At the moment I am waiting for the funds I moved out of an ISA to appear in my account (I had 'zero' intention of buying another car) so cannot arrange things until I have a date. Getting impatient now as I just want to get on with it !

I just need to arrange to collect it now ! My wife does not fancy the 10 hour round trip to drop me off. I could try a cheap flight from Manchester to Heathrow but if I add check in time, travel to Manchester airport and from Heathrow to the dealer (55 minutes), it could still be three hours plus ?

I will talk nicely to our Jaguar master tech (or I can take it back to my previous dealership) for advice and work at 'mates rates' Once the car is mine I will speak to the previous owners and servicing dealers to see if I can find out what has already been done. Has to be worth a shot at the price I have paid for it (I hope !)

How did you get on ?

It was quick but my Impreza is quite rapid and I drive some of the quick stuff at work so maybe I have become de-sensitised to speed ? (LOL) The chap selling it is totally honest about what he does, he has about 50 cars in a yard that he buys 'as is' from other dealers, some have cosmetic issues, higher mileage or older than the dealers will retail. Just adds a bit of profit and moves them on as 'trade' sales, no time to fix problems on individual cars, what you see is what you get. I suppose you pay your money and take your chances ?

Yeah it's the black one ! I have committed to buy it for a bit less than the asking price. Money where my mouth is time, soon find out whether it is a bargain or not........................................ Once I get it home and replace the air/ fuel sensor we shall see where we go from there. Think it might need the heater valve as seemed to blow cool air whatever the setting ? Worst case scenario, I can probably break it for a significant chunk of what I am paying for it. Interestingly, for all S-Type R price watchers, the Glasses Guide price (trade) is less than £2k ! Not that you are likely to buy one anywhere as cheap as that !

2 days over the cut off date is annoying ! I went to view it today, 10 hour round trip thanks to the useless UK road network, unable to cope with moderate traffic volumes. Cosmetically very good for the age and mileage, needs two back tyres soon. Seemed decent to drive but had engine management light on and fault codes p0031 and p0131 which relate to bank 1 oxygen sensor. It was not as quick as I remembered but might be due to the fault codes ? (or the fact that the last time I drove one for any length of time was in 2003 !) A lot of car for the money but still undecided !

I thought about the road tax last night ! You can't win, get something newer so hopefully some of the bugs ironed out and it virtually doubles the tax !

The car is a 2006 '56' plate, less than half the price of a similar car with 80k on the clock. Just being moved on cheap as a dealer part exchange, we do the same thing with anything older or higher mileage than we will retail. Unfortunately it is 200 miles away from me but very tempted to make the trip, all I have to lose is the cost of fuel !

Chance of a cheap S-Type R with 155k on the clock. It has dealer and independent history but involves a long trip to view (and collect ?) Am I absolutely barking mad ?

Plus the 4.2 has an extra 20 BHP !

I had a look at the link on Autotrader and the description is 4.0 V8 Sport, I would expect it to have 17" alloys or above but it has the standard 16" (Dynamic ?) alloys found on the 3.0 SE ? You really need to drive the 4.2 before the 4.0 and you will really notice the difference.

That is very, very strong money for a 4.0 V8 ! I appreciate that the low mileage is a big attraction but there will be some nice 4.2 versions around for similar money. General opinion is that the later cars from 2002 onwards are a vast improvement over the early S-Type. The 4.2 is a better engine with fewer problems, the 6 speed ZF auto is far nicer to drive than the 5 speed and the interior is a world apart ! This is only my opinion but I feel reasonably qualified to comment as I have been selling Jaguars since 2002 when the S-Type facelift was launched. For not much more than the £4k asking price you could get a higher mileage S-Type R !

Not a Sport 200, wrong front bumper to start with and wrong exterior colour ? I see a lot listed as '200 Sport' rather than Sport 200. I have no idea where the 200 Sport description comes from ?

That would frighten a Police horse !

5 speed auto on all S-Types with 'manual' handbrake (up to 2002) 6 speed auto on everything with the electronic park brake (2002 onwards)

Thanks for the offer ! I think the wife would kill me as I am also considering another Impreza with a blown engine as a 'project' !

Someone buy this and sort out the head gasket !

Another one on Ebay, in black with ivory leather. Suspected head gasket failure but only £500 'buy it now' ! I am so tempted, it must be worth £500 for the alloys alone ? Would need to pay for it to be transported but I have contacts who would do me a good deal.

Thanks for the info. I really just want an alternative source for the original ones if possible.